The Academy’s Doomed Young Lord Dies Ten Thousand Times

Chapter 06 - Archenia Academy (2)

The playable characters of , that is, the ‘main characters’, consisted of a total of seven people. In other words, it meant that I had a total of seven options to cling to.

The Light of Salvation, Serene El Stellia.

The Sword Saint, Elwin Van Cardenas.

The Star Seeker, Arien Ortega.

Windfang, Khan.

The Flunked Knight, Yuna.

The Pilgrim of the Lowest Place, Pleta Templeton.

The Visitor from the Outside, Croban Trase.

And, among them, a whopping five were first-years at the academy.

In truth, there was a world-building reason for it. The mana of the Arche Continent was not circulating but condensing, and as a result, the level of the characters was getting higher with each generation, and so on-.

From a realistic point of view, it was probably just due to adult circumstances.

Anyway, I wiped the dust from my eye and scanned the auditorium.

It was to identify the locations of the main characters who would still be in their seats before the entrance ceremony ended, after the oath by the freshman representative, Serene El Stellia.

‘Elwin, there. Khan, there. Yuna, there, Arien, there…….’

…….

Where did Serene go?

Serene El Stellia, the most overpowered character in the world, and a person who would later be reborn as the strongest knight.

She was a person who was even called a saint for her flawless conduct.

But……. why wasn't she in her seat? This had never happened in the game.

“So you were here.”

As I was thinking that, I turned my head at the voice that suddenly came from behind.

And where I turned my head, a girl with emerald eyes and blonde hair neatly braided and hung long was standing.

That appearance was—yes, it was Serene El Stellia.

She was standing in front of me, looking exactly as she did in the game.

“……It’s been a while.”

Even her stiff way of speaking, unfitting for her age, was the same.

But why was she talking to me.

“……Yes.”

No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn't recall any point of contact, so all I could do was bow my head in greeting.

“Were you…… crying.”

Serene asked with a hardened expression. Although she was known to have a naturally stiff personality……. her expression was particularly rigid.

“I got some dust in my eye. I wasn't particularly crying.”

“Is that…… so.”

Upon hearing my answer, Serene showed a somewhat wistful expression. No, I'm not lying. It's true?

“…….”

“…….”

And, silence flowed. Serene seemed to be about to say something, but kept choosing her words. As for me, since I didn't know anything, it was a bit awkward to start a conversation first.

“Why did you come back.”

And, Serene began to open her mouth again.

“The malice directed towards you, Rain……. will be harsher than back then.”

Serene's expression as she said that seemed somewhat pained. But, why was she making such an expression while looking at me?

“……Well.”

I started off cryptically to buy some time to think.

Indeed. Serene was from one of the ‘Three Founding Families’.

That meant that it was highly likely she had also attended Archenia Academy during middle school. According to the setting, Archenia had an integrated middle and high school system.

Thinking of it that way made it easier to understand. It was highly probable that she was holding onto the fact that she couldn't stop the bullying that had occurred in middle school.

Although the question of why the righteous Serene couldn't stop it remained……. for now, this was the best I could come up with.

This situation was quite…… no, it was very good.

I was in a position where I had to win over the main characters somehow, and the future strongest person in the world had walked right up to me on her own.

Moreover, she even harbored a burden of guilt towards me.

I had to leave a deep impression here. And, the best answer to make that possible was-.

“……Finding the light in the darkness.”

I slowly opened my mouth.

“Yes……?”

“That is what a knight is, is it not?”

In , Serene is a character who is the epitome of a knight and walks the path of a knight.

Therefore, in the game, the options with remarks that emphasized chivalry were the most effective.

And perhaps, this would be close to the most perfect answer for someone who aims to be a knight.

I knew. Because I was someone who had played countless times and mulled over the story.

What was strange was that this kind of ‘character-like’ conversation could naturally come out of the mouth of me, whose inner self was a modern person.

This too must have been influenced by the original Rain, just as I felt during the confrontation with Milo earlier.

Serene looked at me with a blank expression for a moment.

“……Fufu.”

And—she soon smiled refreshingly.

“As expected, you haven't changed.”

“Is that so, it would be a problem if I was just like my old self.”

I said so and fiddled with my own arm. It had gained quite a bit of muscle compared to the first regression.

As I acted so affably, Serene shook her head with that same smile.

“No, what I meant was-.”

And, she pointed to her own chest with her finger.

“What's inside here. I was talking about that.”

…….

Rain, what the hell, why was this guy rated so highly by Serene from the beginning?

“That-.”

Just as I was about to answer something. A voice echoed loudly from the mana stone in the auditorium.

“This concludes the entrance ceremony procedures. All students, please move to the main building and follow the guidance of your assigned professor.”

Ah.

I was about to say something but paused and looked at Serene.

“Then we should get going. Shall we go together?”

Then Serene said that to me. To say let's go together with me, who had a bad image, she was certainly as considerate as I had seen in the game.

But.

“No, I might be a burden if we go together.”

I answered so. Because I had my own thoughts. At those words, Serene made an expression that seemed somewhat sad, but also respectful. Then, she nodded her head.

“……If there is anything I can help with, please let me know anytime.”

With those last words, Serene left. Now, I should get moving too.

Because I had to lay the groundwork in preparation for the entrance evaluation tomorrow.

***

The school tour was nothing special. I didn't run into any figures of note, and I was just simply explained the school's facilities and structure.

The disdainful gazes towards me were still there, but……. well, I'd have to get used to it sooner or later.

In any case, the one or two hours of touring and talking about tomorrow's schedule was all there was. After that, we were told to get familiar with the school grounds by walking around ourselves.

Anyway, as shown earlier, the first day at Archenia Academy was calm, contrary to its reputation. The official schedule ended around 11 o'clock.

But that didn't mean there were no important events on the first day.

Yes, the highlight was not in the entrance ceremony or school events. The most important thing on the first day was the autonomous training at the ‘training ground’, which was open from the start.

“It's packed.”

As I opened the door to the training ground and stepped inside, sure enough, it was crowded with people. Although there was no shortage of equipment, given the scale of the facility.

There were two groups of people in the training ground. The students using the training area on the first floor, and the professors watching them from the second floor.

The reason these two groups of people had gathered was because of a unique ‘culture’ of Archenia Academy.

The students of Archenia Academy do not have departments, but are assigned an advising professor according to their individual aptitude and talent.

And, that professor assignment depended solely on the professor's whim. This part was why the first-day culture of Archenia Academy came into being.

From the students' perspective, although the professor assignment is determined by the results of the entrance evaluation, there was nothing wrong with making an impression a little earlier.

From the professors' perspective, choosing a good student was directly linked to good performance, so there was nothing wrong with distinguishing the gems from the stones in advance.

In any case, for that reason, a freshman martial arts showcase disguised as free training was unfolding.

The same scene would probably be unfolding in the Magic Department's training ground right next to the Combat Department's training ground.

“Then…… let’s see.”

However, my interest was not in the professors. There was something more important than that.

I stood at the entrance and looked around at the people in the training area. And…….

“Found him.”

I said so with a grin. Given this face, it probably came out as a rather gloomy smile.

Anyway, I fixed my gaze on one spot and walked in that direction.

“Heup!”

Where my gaze was directed, a green-haired student was swinging a sword, surrounded by his followers of the same age. Yes, it was that guy who had picked a fight with me earlier.

Milo Gloss.

“As expected of Lord Milo! Your skills have improved so much from before! No, you were amazing before too!”

“At this rate, the professors will be fighting over who gets to take Lord Milo, right? Hahaha!”

As I got within earshot, sure enough, the followers' flattery was in full swing.

They were trying to suck up to him to get some crumbs from a prestigious family.

Well, his basics were certainly solid. His physical abilities were also above average. Being from a prestigious family, he must have been trained hard.

But that was it.

“A frog in a well.”

I took my eyes off Milo and picked up a wooden sword a little distance away. I was planning to train for a bit.

It wasn't to catch the professors' eyes. I wasn't planning on showing off anything flashy.

What I was waiting for was that green-haired……. for Milo Gloss to take the bait.

***

The Masked Knight, Acaite, who had been newly appointed as a professor at Archenia Academy, was honestly feeling disappointed.

Tired of the obvious missions, he had taken on the position of a professor with the thought, ‘Should I try fostering the next generation? I'd like to find a decent one,’ but……. it was because he didn't really like the new students he would be in charge of.

“I don't know if this is a knight training center or a dancer training center.”

Everyone was showing off all sorts of flashy weapon techniques to boast about how many techniques they had learned, but it was literally just for show.

In common, their basics were all a mess. It must be the price for neglecting the basics to learn flashy techniques.

There seemed to be a few decent students, but……. it was clear to Acaite's eyes that they would struggle in real combat.

Watching those who had learned the basics shoddily brandish techniques for experts, he was reminded of some foolish knights who were full of themselves and only played at honor, which made him feel quite displeased.

“……Sigh, I'm supposed to make people out of them?”

The habit of gauging the distance to the opponent, the footwork to create the optimal distance for swinging a weapon.

These were the most basic and important elements in swordsmanship, but the process of learning them was tedious and their results were not noticeable, so they were easy to overlook.

‘That's that, but still, if you're going to be a knight, you have to do the basics.’

“Senior Acaite, how are the kids?”

A woman with pink hair approached Acaite, who was sighing. It was Jenna, a professor who was also a former knight like Acaite.

“They're all pretty bad overall. This is supposed to be the generation with the most talent in history……. or whatever? They're just full of themselves.”

“Hey, don't be like that~. They're sprouts that have just started to grow, aren't they?”

That might be true. Acaite sighed.

“Now, now, don't be like that! Let's look at the good ones too!”

Jenna patted Acaite's back and pointed to the training area with her finger.

And at the end of her finger was a male student with blonde hair and blue eyes, holding a sword.

“That's the heir of the Sword Saint family, Elwin Van Cardenas.”

“Ah, one of the Three Founding Families? That guy is definitely different in some way. He could probably take on most active-duty knights.”

“Right~ You know the child from the Stellia family, who is also from one of the three families, of course, right? Oh, over there!”

“I heard she's already surpassed the Senior Knight level. What's there to say.”

As Jenna said, there were several promising ones to be found.

A male student dressed in the attire of an eastern tribe was showcasing a unique martial art, and there was also a black-haired female student who, though unrefined, seemed to have a natural talent for combat sense.

“Certainly, there are some decent ones……?”

And as Acaite was looking around the training area and muttering so, there was a student who caught his eye at once.

The empire's standard sword style. A male student with a somewhat gloomy impression, swinging the Alles Sword Style at a scarecrow.

“……Hey, is he famous?”

“Who……. ah, the shut-in young lord. He is famous. His name was……. what was it? Ein? Rain? I saw him a long, long time ago when I was observing the middle school exam.”

“……He's the shut-in young lord?”

The rumor of the shut-in young lord was one of the well-known gossips in the empire. As the sole shame of the Duchy of Enlight, one of the pillars of the empire, the ‘Three Founding Families’.

The shut-in young lord of illegitimate birth who had even dropped out of the academy's middle school and holed himself up in his room, Rain Enlight.

Acaite, being well-connected, had heard the name quite often. Although Acaite, being of commoner birth, tended to look upon such ridicule with displeasure.

“Well, he's got the basics down, right? But that's about it.”

Jenna said so as if she wasn't thinking much, propping up her chin. However, Acaite's thoughts were different.

“You think that's just having the basics down?”

“Yes?”

The Masked Knight, Acaite, was a knight renowned for his high mission success rate. He was also a knight who was often counted among the top ten most excellent knights on the continent.

The driving force behind such an Acaite was none other than his ‘eyes’.

The eyes to see people, and situations.

Those eyes were telling him.

‘He's the real deal.’ Although Jenna didn't seem to have noticed.

Solid basics, a sword path that was unpredictable until the moment of the strike, and…… even the footwork to accurately measure the distance to the opponent.

“……Is it talent, or experience.”

He could feel it instinctively. That was a kind of martial art that could only be barely mastered after rolling on countless battlefields.

“Well, I guess it doesn't matter which one it is.”

Whether it was experience or talent, it was amazing for his age either way.

Acaite smiled quietly behind his mask. Because he had a feeling that his life as a professor at the academy would be more rewarding than he thought.